The Penguin: The unexpected diamond in the rough of the year.

Last Sunday saw the end of the Penguin series, which with its final episode ranked as one of the best in IMDb's history with a brand new 9.7 rating. Now the question is: Is this series really that good that none of its 8 episodes went below an 8.5 rating? My short answer: yes, absolutely. My long answer is below.

Cast and performances

Of the many things that stand out about this Matt Reeves miniseries masterpiece, it's undoubtedly the cast and their performances. The fantastic foursome of this series are based on the incredible Colin Farrell as Oz, Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar, and Deirdre O'Connell as Francis Cobb, the penguin's mother.

Colin Farrell as the Penguin: Very few are not surprised by the impeccable role Colin plays as Oz throughout this series; having already seen his appearance in The Batman, we knew that he was the one and only for this role, and we were not wrong at all. The make-up, the acting, the way he walks, the facial gestures as he executes each of his manipulative and lying skills to further ascend what he desires, EVERYTHING, is perfectly done by Farrell. He's even unrecognizable from the way he looks as Oz, but that's one of the things that makes his performance a complete gem.

Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone: I'm probably not the only one who fell in love with Cristin's performance as Sofia, who even takes you to the point of rooting for a raving mad psychopath (just like Oz) just because the show and its actors do it so well; they make us empathize with these monsters, even in their worst acts, like Sofia's in episode 4 entitled ‘Cent'Anni’, murdering all the remaining members of the Falcone family during the wee hours of the morning. Hats off to Cristin for her work in the role of Sofia; her outfits, performances, and dialogue are simply a true cent'anni that adds up to many points in this miniseries.

Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar: Something that particularly surprised me throughout the 8 episodes was Rhenzy's performance as Victor. Above all, something I noticed a lot and want to highlight is the special way he has of reflecting Victor's constant doubt and hesitation in situations with Oz. Every time he stutters when he speaks, which he does much more at the beginning than at the end, it shows us perfectly, thanks to Rhenzy, how Victor's body language works in the face of his initiation into this world of mafia and corruption. Too bad we won't be able to continue watching this unfold in this world, because that's the thing about family, if you know what I mean.

Deirdre O'Connell as Francis Cobb: If the three previous performances are already excellent, Deirdre's as Francis is even more so. I think that the performances of actors playing characters with some kind of condition are often underrated, at least in this context; for example, Charlie Cox's performance as Daredevil imitates the same gestures of a blind man as the character.

The point is that Deirdre dons the number 10 shirt and gives us several of the best moments in the series, my particular favorite being the revelation to Oz that she always knew about her brothers, and how she executes her insanity within the character is a marvel without a doubt.

Narrative of the story told

The Penguin is titled as a miniseries, or, as I call it, a bridge series to the Batman sequel in this universe. Sure, this might have led us to believe that it wouldn't be a big deal, especially with the exploitation of the genre today, especially by the two big companies, Marvel and DC.

However, I and many others were enthralled by the pilot alone, which was over an hour long and handled the buildup in a completely neat and tidy manner. The biggest point of writing a villain like Oz into a series is to make this villain betray the audience, just as he betrays the other characters; we are just one more in his vile lies.

At the beginning, in the first episode, we see that, of course, Oz is a bad person, but within our deluded naiveté and mild bad habits, we believed that he had a modicum of humanity as we progressed through the series. However, surprise! There isn't. Oz ends the series as he begins it, being a liar, manipulator, and psychopath, from murdering Alberto Falcone for mocking his ambitions to smothering Victor for being a potent weakness for him down the line, since, as we well saw Sofia's play with Francis, the only weakness that put the penguin in any real danger was his family.

Adding to that, exploring the world of Gotham's mafia families seemed to me something sublimely enriching for this saga, because the series executes it so well, it could easily have been more extensive, in the style of "The Sopranos" or similar. Sofia Falcone's self-destruction of her own family, both literally and metaphorically, the discourse of power over the city with the famous "Bliss" and the corruption around it.

The way in which the series explores each character's past, especially Sofia's in the fourth episode, when her father sends her to Arkham, framing her for a crime she did not commit, causing her to gradually lose her humanity inside the asylum, is another highlight that makes it so short.

Really, I have nothing but praise for this series, because being so short, it did what so many other superhero series or comic book adaptations fail to do, which is to be consistent with your own story. It shows from start to finish Oz's rise as Gotham's new kingpin, with no one to stand in his way. The future alliance between Sofia and Selina, the building of Victor adding to a particular corruption of humanity, and the constant game of lies between everyone just to look out for their own self-interest in a city that hails a leader to carry the power.

Psychology of each character

Oswald Cobb: As I mentioned before, if we talk about an evolution within Oz's character, I consider that there is none. Why? For the simple fact that, from beginning to end, both Oz and the series itself lie to us so much that we immerse ourselves in this lie and believe it in order to look for a ray of light in the eternal darkness of the penguin, but the reality is that he is a black hole without remorse. This is how the psyche of this protagonist works; he is a full-fledged villain, and the series from the start lets us know it, a villain with a need for recognition to become an acclaimed "man of the people" without a trace of humanity or remorse in order to get away with it, so much so that they almost cut off his mother's finger just to continue with his lie.

Particular facts to note are Oz's inherent need for his mother's approval, accompanied by his Oedipus complex that we notice in the flashbacks of his younger version. His need to hear from his mother's mouth that he did well, that she was proud of him. Of course, it's a sadistic emotional reflection of, perhaps, a mild sense of guilt for all she's done to him, especially for letting his siblings die, which, I might venture to mention, is partly driven by his Oedipal complex and a certain jealousy towards them. Now, knowing that his mother was always aware of what she did, he finds himself needing to hear that she did the right thing, that she did the right thing, even though he knows she didn't really do it. And if you notice, this very thing he wanted to hear is what she says to Victor just moments before she murders him; it all rhymes.

Sofia Falcone: I think Sofia Falcone's arc is completely insane for all the evolution we see in her throughout the series. If one of the characters has to be labeled as a victim, Sofia is clearly the main candidate for this accolade. Her greatest sin was to be born the daughter of Carmine Falcone and to possess more than her family's due intelligence and cunning, especially as a woman. Her descent into madness during her stay in Arkham marks a before and after for her psyche; after that, then would be the murder of Alberto, her brother, since he was the only one who served as a refuge in a family full of betrayals between them.

Sofia, like everyone else, was not exempt from being manipulated by Oz for her own benefit, of course, and despite everything, she decided to play her own dirty game and almost won. However, this only led to her becoming even more corrupt, murdering all those in her family who left her behind when she needed it most, who dismissed her after returning from Arkham, seeing her as ‘The Hangman’ or simply a nuisance who didn't know how things were. I should point out that, while Sofia willingly decides to play Oz's own game, this is only a consequential effect of what Oz himself achieved in her. For a moment he cornered him, yes, but right then and there, thanks to Victor's move, the penguin won Sofia's game back. Being strategic, intelligent, and, of course, manipulative, Sofia was a good opponent, but as she has a real presence of humanity during her evolution and, despite her thirst for revenge for her brother's death, it is difficult to come out of this without consequences.

Victor Aguilar: At first I didn't expect so much from this character; I thought he would have a simple, flat role as Oz's henchman, a little more, but I was more than wrong. In the third episode, where Victor's past is explored during the flooding of the city and his debate between leaving with his girl or staying in his new life, we are already shown how much potential the character has. Taking care of Francis when he kills for the first time when he feels threatened by that old acquaintance as a worthy apprentice to someone like Oz, but also seeing how he fails at being intimidated and hesitant by his new job. As I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, something I always liked to highlight was Rhenzy's performance in showing us Victor's doubts and emotions corporeally as he speaks, which goes from strength to strength as the episodes and events progress, where Victor gets used to the darkness.

The funny thing is, Oz obviously wouldn't have gotten away with it without Victor. The last big move was thanks to him; in that last scene where we see him, we are shown his vulnerability in declaring Oz as a kind of family to him, showing us his current lack of relatives and loved ones in his life, being covered up in an inadequate way, which, as we well know, would cost him his life.

Francis Cobb: I would say Francis is the character with the most complexity to analyze, because, in a sane way, anyone would think: Why did he continue to stand by Oz knowing what he did? Was his hatred for him true all these years? Did he truly believe in him? These are questions that have been on my mind since the series ended and since Francis' revelation. The question is, having dementia with Lewy bodies, it makes me wonder... To what extent was it just bad luck to relapse into this virulent nexus of Alzheimer's and dementia? I think the big influencing factor was having lived all these years with the devil himself in his house, with his own son Oswald.

Her constant insistence that her son managed to take over Gotham and take what ‘belonged to them’ also makes me see it as an automatism of forcing herself to believe her own lie about her son. As I said, this series is a perfect snowball made up of lies. Although in her moments of lucidity, she asked not to want to become a vegetable, that when the time came, he would kill her, but even Oswald doesn't deliver on that, mainly because of his overbearing ego. Francis and Sofia are clearly the most wronged victims in this story, though at this point, even Oz himself is his own victim. I can't imagine the hell Francis went through for all the years as she continued to raise a monster under her mother's wing after being taken from her little birds by the act of the most ingenious liar in the nest.

The ending and the bridge to ‘The Batman: Part II’.

About the ending of the series, it's the most exalted point of the whole story; everything ends up intertwining and setting us up for what's to come on October 2, 2026, with the sequel to The Batman. This series isn't about the villain losing; this series is about the villain lying to you until he wins and looking down on the lights of the entire city from the highest point. The tension from the start of the last episode, Victor's big move in desperation to save Oz from his mess, Sofia's hubris and surrender in believing he's won, Francis going into a vegetable state, reflecting on the unhappiness he'll have to live with for the rest of his ‘life’ because his wishes aren't being fulfilled, is a complete work of art, but let's talk about what's most important.

They will remember our names.

Victor's death was a necessary evil that had to occur within this finale, just for a mild reminder that we are watching the story of a villain and that we should not feel even the slightest empathy for someone like him, if any honestly did, due to the show's great way of inserting us into its own lie. Oz's reasons for murdering Vic are made very clear, beyond the fact that he is simply a very bad person, as Victor became a potential weakness by seeing him labeled as ‘family’ after his confession; we can even see it in his reaction to Vic's reflective dialogue afterwards. The icing on the cake is the detail of stealing the money from his wallet and throwing his ID into the sea... That's where you realize yet another lie: Where's the "They're going to remember us, kid? They're going to remember our names. You can be somebody."? It was just another farce that claimed the life of the one who wanted to be his henchman in his new Gotham government, because no one is willing to take on the potential weaknesses of sticking with a loved one.

Nothing stands in his way any more.

Finally, Oswald got his view of all the lights of the city, next to his mother, dead in life in a vegetable state, having her in agony looking out the giant window, with a huge but empty penthouse in the solitude of her new grandeur. Giving one last dance with Eve dressed as his mother at the club when he was just a little devil, asking her to tell him all the things he could never hear from his own mother, reinforcing the penguin's need for recognition, slowly pulling the camera away from the window, focusing on his big building... Remember I said no one would stand in his way anymore? Well, I lied to them too. In the distance, on the horizon, after a few seconds of stillness, we see the bat-signal reflected, closing the series with an absolute flourish, because, as you know, it’s not just a call. It’s a warning.